Working Families Blog is the official blog of New York Working Families, covering issues and politics important to the working families of New York.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Family Leave Roundtable on Long Island - Today!

We're holding a living room roundtable for working parents today at 2 in Mastic on Long Island to discuss the need for better state family leave policies so working parents can care for new kids and ailing relatives. Suffolk County Legislator Kate Browning will moderate the discussion.

Speaking at the roundtable are working parents who have wrestled with the decision of how soon to return to their jobs after having a child and workers who have had to leave their jobs to care for their seriously ill parents. They'll tell their stories and discuss how the Working Families Time to Care Act would improve the lives of families facing similar choices about how to balance family and work.

Roundtable participants will encourage State Senator Trunzo to support the Working Families Time to Care Act.

The Working Families Party supports the Working Families Time to Care Act, which would allow working families to take care of each other in times of need without risking financial hardship. Here's how it works:

The Working Families Time to Care Act would expand New York's existing Temporary Disability Insurance program to cover family needs like leave for either parent to care for a newborn child or a newly adopted child or a seriously-ill family member.

Workers would receive up to 12 weeks of benefits, funded through a modest increase of premiums paid within the existing TDI program.